Born and raised in The Netherlands, Jonathan Haffmans began his classic French culinary training at ROC Zadkine Rotterdam, where he obtained a degree in culinary arts as well as restaurant and hotel management. Upon graduation, Jonathan was recruited to work for Marriott International in the United States and around the Caribbean, in various front- and back-of-house food and beverage positions. In 2002, Jonathan was asked to join Abigail Kirsch Culinary productions, one of Manhattan's premier caterers, as executive sous chef. While at Abigail Kirsch, Jonathan was trained by CCO Alison Awerbuch, James Beard award-winning chef and vice president of Les Dames d'Escoffier New York. In 2004, Jonathan joined the New York Palace Hotel as senior sous chef. From there, Jonathan moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to become the executive sous chef at the Chatham Bars Inn, where he assisted the executive chef in overseeing the hotel's five restaurants, all private dining events and weddings. It was at Chatham Bars Inn where he eventually developed Vers.

Chef Jonathan's approach at Vers is to marry classic French and contemporary techniques while using the best local and seasonal ingredients available in and around Cape Cod. He speaks five languages fluently and lives with his wife and two children in Harwich, Massachusetts.

Karen Haffmans, General Manager and Partner

Born in Manhattan and raised in New Jersey, Karen Haffmans spent most of her professional career in the Advertising industry in New York City. Once having children, she and her husband, Chef Jonathan Haffmans, craved a change of pace and moved to Cape Cod. It was there where they fulfilled a longstanding dream of opening their own restaurant together.

Karen handles the day-to-day operations of the Vers, bringing a keen eye for perfection and design, highly developed organizational skills and a love for food and wine to the table.

She speaks only one language fluently and lives with the guy in the picture above and their two children in Harwich, Massachusetts.

Jeremiah Reardon, Chef de Cuisine

A Cape Cod native, Jeremiah was born and raised in Orleans. He first discovered his love for cooking at his parents’ restaurant in Truro. He started helping out in the restaurant’s kitchen at the age of 9 and continued throughout high school. After several years of university studying Business Administration, Jeremiah decided to follow his passion and enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York City. Upon graduation, he worked for some of the country’s greatest chefs, expanding on his culinary school education: Grey Kuntz at Lespinasse, Wolfgang Puck at Postrio, Nancy Oaks at Boulevard, and Terrence Fuery at Striped Bass to name a few. His first Executive Chef position was at Brewster Fish House, where he stayed for 7 years and received the James Beard Best Chef/Northeast nomination in 2007.

Chef Jeremiah joined the Vers team in their Orleans location and has been integral to the restaurant’s development and success from the start.